Armed Forces Veteran Caught Up In Deportation Nightmare

OP-ED

August 12, 2013

I am a legal permanent resident of the United States, a father, a taxpayer, a former Connecticut property owner and, most of all, I am a veteran of the U.S. Armed Services. I am being held in immigration detention following a conviction for a nonviolent drug offense in 2010, for which I take full responsibility and served my prison time.

I came to the United States from Jamaica as a young teenager 35 years ago. I chose to enlist in the Army the day I went to apply for U.S. citizenship, thinking that serving my country would be the most meaningful way to become a citizen. I served honorably and built my life here, but because of a misunderstanding on my part, I never got my citizenship.

I now face deportation. I could be banished from the United States forever, permanently separated from my family and the only country I call my own — the country that I served honorably and was ready to die for.

I would like to take this opportunity to speak seriously about the deportation of former members of the armed forces who took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, and did so honorably.

Former U.S. soldiers like me are now prisoners of war in the great nation we took an oath of allegiance to defend. How does a country deport or even have the intention of banishing an honorably discharged service member?

Being held in prison while awaiting your deportation hearing, you are constantly reminded that you're not considered a person. You have the feeling of being stripped of anything that makes you feel human, taken away from your home, your family, with a devastating effect on your children. It is the worst punishment that any country or system can bestow upon someone.

Being shackled constantly for hours on end, dragged up and down those hallways, you get the feeling of every person who was in captivity and led into slavery. I have my moments of doubts, but as a former service member I do believe in this nation. There has to be some kind of policy to prevent the deportation of former service members.

For legal permanent residents, even those who have served this country, detention and deportation are the consequences of conviction even for some minor offenses. Until a Supreme Court decision in 2010, attorneys were not even required to inform us that we could be deported if we entered a guilty plea in criminal court.

To make matters worse, many veterans like me are led to believe their service grants them automatic citizenship. Recruiters sometimes use misleading language to encourage legal permanent residents to enlist. As a result, many veterans do not follow through to seek citizenship, thinking they have already earned it. And then if they are convicted of even some relatively minor crimes, such as shoplifting, they can find themselves facing deportation.

Being held in immigration detention and facing deportation is the lowest point for any person who has been willing to die for their country — it's demoralizing. It sends the wrong message to any person who served their country honorably that you are no longer part of "us," the deserving.

We immigrants who signed up for service took the oath to defend the Constitution, to fight as free men and women for our country. Now we are prisoners of war in the nation that we were ready to die for.

Mark Reid is a veteran and longtime New Haven resident who faces deportation for possessing and selling controlled substances. This op-ed was written with the help of the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, which is representing former Pfc. Reid.

This op-ed was edited on Aug. 12 to remove the erroneous statement that the author faces deportation for a previous conviction.